Role in American Culture

The Role of the Jukebox in American Culture

How the Jukebox Became Popular: A Complicated Road to Success

As evident in our discussion of the invention and key technologies used to create the jukebox, what we know today as a jukebox had a rocky history with a slow build towards its own Golden Age.

The jukebox borrowed from pieces of technology used in vending machines, the phonograph, and player pianos, and was able to rise to popularity due a popular desire for swing and ragtime music that would necessitate the early record industry that would soon be engulfed by radio companies.

At this time, the United States saw the creation of a modern music industry as a whole, as the popularity of recorded music over its expensive alternative of concerts and live music, which was further advertised in publications such as Billboard. The creation of the industry allowed for the jukebox to prosper first in the late 1930s but especially after 1946 and into the 1950s.

As jukeboxes began their slow rise back into popularity at the end of the 1930s, jukebox companies began to use colorful, often Art Deco or “modern” designs for the boxes that would house their music machines. It was at this point that jukeboxes gained their iconic looks that we remember today. [1]

Swing, Jazz, and Rock & Roll – The Jukebox in the 1940s and 1950s

In the 1940s, jukebox production was again halted until 1946, this time not because of a struggling record and music industry, but now, because of the necessity for American companies to produce military goods during World War Two.

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It is important to note that, while production of jukeboxes was halted, the jukebox was still a partially popular means of entertainment.

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Finally, after 1946, the jukebox would begin its official entrance into its Golden Age. The most notable model of this era is the Wurlitzer 1015, a model known for its “lava lamp” or “bubble like” tubes and beautiful colors.

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As was seen with the Automatic Entertainers and Phonographs of the 1920s and 1930s, the popular music of the time played a large role in promoting the jukebox. By the 1940s, the most popular genres of music were swing, jazz, and eventually rock & roll – all of which borrowed largely from the African-American communities. [2]

The New American Teenager: A New Market for the Jukebox

In the post-war era, Americans enjoyed a sense of freedom and stability that had not existed during the decades of World War Two, the Great Depression, and Prohibition. Which this new stability came a resurgence of conservative values in which children and adolescents, for the first time, began to take part in a transitional culture of their own.

With this new culture came a wide array of activities and environments meant just for teenagers, including the popularization of restaurants and diners that served as “hang-out spots” for young Americans. These diners boasted their own jukeboxes where teenagers, too could partake in popular music culture.

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For a small period of time, at the height of its popularity, the jukebox did not have to “compete” with the radio, but rather, was a popular trend sweeping the nation. As young Americans desired and purchased rock & roll records, along with the creation of the 45 rpm record – which allowed for “singles” to be sold, the jukebox truly filled its own role in society that was previously either filled by other forms of entertainment or entirely non-existent. [3]

With a new demographic of Americans taking part in jukebox culture, the jukebox was clearly a large part of American “third spaces,” or social environments where people spent time outside of their home and work. [4]

Transformational Effects: Revitalizing the Record Industry

It is clear that the jukebox finally had a transformational effect on American culture. During the postwar period and into the 1950s, the jukebox was pivotal in revitalizing the young but struggling record industry that waned during the advent of the radio and during the Great Depression. [5]

Did the Jukebox “Bridge” or “Divide” People?

At this time, many record companies did not want to be associated with African-American artists, however, the accessibility of the jukebox provided a space for these artists to share their music. [6]

As we remember it today, the jukebox is a quintessential symbol of mid-century America. [7]

Key Takeaways

The Jukebox and Nostalgia

There is no argument that the jukebox holds a key place in mid 20th-century nostalgia. Between its beautiful glimmering colors, and the memories attached to listening to swing, jazz, and rock & roll music, the jukebox is a quintessential piece of American popular culture history.

At its height, the jukebox allowed for the emergence of a new, adolescent-only culture that was a product of the stability and freedom present in the post-war period. While the jukebox, and its phonograph predecessors, always offered cheap entertainment, the jukebox was finally at the “right place” at the “right time” by the late 1940s through the 1950s.

The Significance of the Postwar Period

No longer did the shining music machine have to contend with a lack of listeners due to declining customer bases during Prohibition or the Great Depression, and nor did it have to be placed on production hold during World War Two in favor of producing much needed goods for the war.

After over half a century of technological development and entrepreneurial experimentation, the jukebox was finally ready for its Golden Age during the postwar period. While longterm popular success of the jukebox was short-lived as new music-playing devices were invented in the late 1960s onward, the jukebox will forever remain an iconic staple of the American 1950s landscape.

Notes

[1] Kerry Segrave, Jukeboxes: An American Social History (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. 2002), 20.

[2] “Jukeboxes: The Complete History” (Home Leisure Direct. October 07, 2015), Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.homeleisuredirect.com/blog/jukeboxes/jukeboxes-complete-history.html

[3] Vincent Lynch and Bill Henkin, Jukebox The Golden Age: 1937-1948 (Berkeley, CA: Lancaster-Miller, 1981)

[4] Kerry Segrave. 45.

[5] Companies That Made Jukeboxes. Accessed October 16, 2019. http://www.jitterbuzz.com/jukeboxes_companies.html#compa

[6] Kerry Segrave. 49.

[7] Ibid.